Maybe There Will Be Cupcakes

Ginny Bartolone's Blog of Many Years

Tag: Travel Writing

  • The Fourth Camino: Part 11

    The Fourth Camino: Part 11

    There were three hiking days left in the trip. Years of planning and we were just an hour’s drive and a three day’s hike to Santiago. No matter the length of each Camino I’ve walked, the questions, “What comes next?” and “What was the point of all this?” start to creep in and distract you…

  • The Fourth Camino: Part One

    I ironed a hole in my hiking pants three days before we left for Spain. We’d canceled and rescheduled this trip so many times. And now that it was so painfully close, I obsessed over every detail—down to ironing pants I’d spend the next three weeks washing in a bucket. As you’d suspect, my polyester…

  • The Journey Back

    I’ve written a lot about coming home from the Camino and how the process can be harder than the walk itself. After three of these crazy journeys, I’ve found that it takes almost exactly a year for me to suddenly realize how I’ve changed. The year leading up to it is wildly confusing, especially the…

  • Rewinding 12 Days of Hiking in 3 Hours

    I ripped off the bandaid rather early on my last morning in Santiago. I shoved all my things into my backpack one more time and said goodbye to my comfortable hotel haven, to the cathedral, and to the people at Pilgrim House. I exited the city the way I came in, past the restaurant where…

  • One Day Without Motion

    Waking up in Santiago feels pretty darn good. It takes a moment to realize, however, that you’re in a room by yourself and you have nowhere to walk. My body shifts into healing mode the moment I arrive. I typically feel sorer on the first day in Santiago than I do the whole trip. I…

  • How to Walk 15 Miles When You Feel Like Hell

    It’s raining and chilly in NYC today. This morning, I went on a walk to honor the end of my Camino in my hiking boots, raincoat, and hiking pants. I came back to a warm apartment with a fridge full of food and a cozy cup of coffee topped off with nutmeg. Life back home…

  • “But I Did it My Way”

    I woke up to a rainy morning in Briallos and was ready to hit the road with a renewed sense of energy despite my aching knee. A sense of great accomplishment after the 28k day and the nearing finish line provided a decent amount of adrenaline for the penultimate day of hiking. And anyway, the…

  • Santiago Sneaks Up on You

    The funny thing about a trip of this length is that the end feels impossibly far away until suddenly, it isn’t. I woke up on the 9th day of walking with the realization that I only had three more days to be a pilgrim. I love this identity. I may not be religious, but the…

  • When the Modern Road Returns

    It’s easy to look back on a life-altering trip and color the whole experience with a rosy lens. Wrapped up neatly, I was quite content most of the trip, much more so than I managed to be in 2009 or 2017. Then again, staying upbeat for 12 days is different than staying upbeat for 35.…

  • Frida Kahlo and the Land of Deep Blue

    I have a tattoo on my left arm of a poppy and the word, ultreïa. This word was first seen in a 12th-century guide about how to walk the Camino, and it is believed to mean, “Go further!” The poppy, however, has a double meaning. To start, there are poppies all over the Camino Frances…